Cameron ‘guilty’ for making Britain vulnerable to war

London, Sep 18 (IANS) British Prime Minister David Cameron risks going down in history as a “guilty man” for ordering defence cuts which have made Britain more vulnerable to war, a British daily said.

Cameron’s defence policy is “likely to lead to more wars in the future” because Britain will appear weak, the Daily Express reported, citing two reports by the UK National Defence Association (UKNDA).

Tory historian Andrew Roberts said Cameron is in danger of being seen as on par with appeasers before World War II.

He said the prime minister and his cabinet risk going down in history as “Guilty Men” like those who oversaw defence cutbacks during World War II even as Hitler rose to power.

Roberts said the government was ignoring the lessons of history and seems set on a course that is “illogical, dangerous and ultimately self-defeating”.

Cameron cut the regular army by 20 percent to 82,000 men, the navy by 14 percent and the air force by 13 percent, the daily said.

The UKNDA report, “Disarmament & Consequences”, by Air Commodore Andrew Lambert and Allen Sykes, said Russia and China were expanding their armed forces, the Middle East was more volatile than ever, piracy was on the increase and the US was reducing its commitment to Europe’s defence.

Former chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Michael Graydon, who co-authored the second report, “A National Debate on Defence”, said ministers have to answer basic questions about defence policy and the resources available.

“For an enduring campaign of more than 30 days, Britain can guarantee to provide about 30 attack planes, about six ships and a Brigade. And that is after we leave Afghanistan,” he wrote.

The defence ministry described the documents as interesting but dismissed their scenarios as “among the least likely”.

“Our armed forces remain a highly trained and formidable fighting force with one of the largest defence budgets in the world,” Armed Forces minister Andrew Robathan was quoted as saying.